Unfortunately, I was unable to make it on the final day as I have caught a bad flu which I do not wish go spread to my fellow peers.

How do you feel about the SST-NTU Flagship programme?

Describe how the programme has affected your understanding of the discipline on a larger scale

Share your insights for the programme in general

I found the programme extremely interesting as I got to try out many experiments and use the various machines which cannot be found anywhere else easily. Through the project challenges organized, I have developed a deeper interest for materials science as I started to understand better its importance. With the proper applications of materials science, we are able to create improved devices which could benefit us more. Take the titanic for example. Our student leader explained that it was not only due to the ship hitting the ice berg that it sunk. However, it was also due to the of type materials used to build the ship. She stated that although the metal used was strong in comparison to other ships, it became extremely ductile and brittle when sailed over icy cold temperatures. Thus, it broke easily when it hit the iceberg and sank. In recent years, ships which are to be sailed over cold temperatures, are built with metal that are not affected greatly when exposed to cold temperatures.

What did you do today? (Briefly describe your day’s activities)

Each group proceeded to carry on with the final challenge. For my group it was to familiarize ourselves with the SEM and collect images of different materials. As we entered the lab, the student guide explained that the room has to be kept dark to improve the quality of the image. Each organism used has to be coated in gold to conduct heat away from it as the filament would be heated to very high temperatures. Without the coating, the biological matter used would burn. The matter used also should be dead, to minimize movement in the SEM. After explaining all of the conditions needed to be fulfilled, the student leader let us take turns to try using the machine. After everyone has gotten a feel of how to control the SEM, the student leader guided us to a nearby room which contained the TEM. It is able to project images as small as atoms. She then explained the importance of leaving the room as quiet as possible to minimize the vibration of atoms.After visiting the SEM and TEM, we proceeded back to the holding room and continued our discussions for our final presentations.We proceeded on with lunch and soon, it was time for each group to present.Unfortunately, I fell ill somewhere between the presentations and was sent back by the teacher-in-charge. I received news later that my group was selected to present to the entire cohort the following day.

What did you learn today? (Discuss any learning points from today’s activities)

I learnt about the different conditions which have to be maintained when using the SEM and TEM. For example, a dark and quiet room is necessary for both machines to project quality images. Dead matter is to be used for scanning to minimize movement in the device and they have to be coated in gold to conduct heat away from the matter. This ensures that they do not get burnt when the filament is heated up to high temperatures.

How do you feel about today’s activities?

Describe how the project has affected your understanding of the discipline and how it may be applied elsewhere

Share your insights for the day

I found today's activities rather interesting and engaging as we finally got to see the SEM and TEM. I believe this method of looking at details of matter which cannot be seen to the naked eye is very helpful especially when planning to make products which imitate nature. For example, the gecko can climb on walls due to the grip on its feet. Scientists would not have known the cause of this without using the SEM as it allows scientists to study the feet of gecko with greater detail. With the help of the SEM, scientists then realized that geckos' feet are filled with micro fibers. They hence, used their findings to develop products with greater grips.

What new questions do you have regarding the discipline?

I noticed that the SEM is only able to project black & white images. Is it possible to refine the SEM such that we are able to see the colour of the biological matter used?

~Click on 'next' below to continue to Thursday's reflection~

What did you do today? (Briefly describe your day’s activities)

First, we were given a short introduction on NTU followed by a safety briefing in case of an emergency. We were then given a tour of the different types of labs dedicated to materials science.

Next, we were split into sub-groups and each group proceeded to the various labs assigned. Group 7-4 was assigned to challenge A, tensile testing of engineering materials. We observed the behaviors of different materials(polystyrene, aluminium copper alloy, polypropylene) and learnt about their mechanical properties.

The images shows a polypropylene bar being stretched by the universal testing machine

Next, we went for a lunch break.

After the lunch break, we proceeded to our next challenge, C, Composite Material Processing. We were introduced to composite materials and how impactful they are. We did a hands-on activity where we used carbon fibre matts and glass fibre matts which are soft and flimsy at first. However, after applying a mixture of epoxy and hardener solution onto each fibre matts, the materials became extremely tough and hard to break.

Order of layers for making fiber-reinforced composites

After completion of the two challenges, we used our spare time to work on our group's final presentation and we were subsequently dismissed from NTU at 4pm.

Group 7-3 and 7-4 preparing for presentation.

What did you learn today? (Discuss any learning points from today’s activities)

I learnt that when a force is applied to a material, it undergoes engineering stress. This stress leads to the material getting deformed and it would not be able to return to its original shape again.

1. Engineering Stress can be calculated by the following formula,

The amount of deformation a material has gone through is hence defined as engineering strain.

2. Engineering Strain can be calculated by the following formula,

How do you feel about today’s activities? (Describe how the project has affected your understanding of the discipline and how it may be applied elsewhere and share your insights for the day)

I felt that today's activities were very engaging and enjoyable as there were a lot of hands-on tasks and we got to explore an area which we haven't touched in school yet.I believe challenge A where we carried out a tensile test, can be applied when building structures to ensure that the weight applied on the materials do not cause a lot of stress and strain which may cause the structure to collapse eventually. Challenge C, where we explored composite materials, can be applied when making products like cars. This is especially helpful when wanting to develop stronger yet lighter and more efficient products.

~Click on 'next' below to continue to Wednesday's reflection~

What sounds interesting about this project?

I was fascinated by the fact that the SEM could project much more detailed images than the light microscope which could already magnify microscopic organisms.

What do you think you can learn from this project? Identify one area that you would like to explore and find out more based on the SEM quiz.

I would like to learn more about how exactly the SEM functions and what are the conditions for it to work.

Any immediate questions regarding the project? Add 2 more questions

What inspired scientists to build the SEM?

Is scanning by electrons the only method to view images at such a large magnification?